legalize_it

i have a Ti fork. my king crown race fits a little loose on it. barnetts also recommends gnurling and/or using loctite 680 retaining compound, but does not address whether gnurling or the loctite is compatible with Ti! i dont want to ruin the tool attempting to gnurl it.

any Ti experts out there?

bikemeister

I'm no expert, but used to collect bike mag articles that dealt with alternative materials. Titanium's considered the "hot-rod" of metals. I recall a clip that stated the bits they use to machine steel tubes would do 30 steel tubes but only three titanium tubes before needing resharpening. That figure sticks in my mind - I take it that titanium is harder (though lighter) than steel. I hope that helps.

DannoXYZ 

The reason drill-bits and cutting tools wear out faster on ti is because its thermal conductivity is only 1/2 that of steel. So the surface temperature at the contact area heats up a lot more than steel. This heat wears out cutting tools faster.

Rockwell (surface) hardness of ti is about 1/10th to 1/5th that of steel. Modulus (stiffness) of ti is also about half that of steel. However, strength (yield & ultimate) can be twice that of steel, so you've got a soft springy material. Knurling tools will work just fine on ti, you'll need to run it through twice because the material springs back and doesn't take a set as easily as steel.

HillRider

Are you certain the fork is Ti? That a very unusual material for forks. They are available but very rare.

BTW, Loctite will work fine on any metal; steel, Al or Ti.

legalize_it

thanks danno, that was the info i was looking for.

im gonna contact the fork manufactorer before i try any monkey business, of course. hopefully they'll warranty it!

San Rensho 

Light indentations made with a cold chisel work pretty well for knurling. Not pretty but effective.